Pamela Roth, QMI Agency

EDMONTON- An enraged renter with a bed bug problem used a knife to smash through the window of a property management company and slash the neck of a manager hiding inside, police say.

The suspect, who is in his early 60s, has an ongoing dispute with Helm Property Management about bed bugs, police said.

He showed up at the company’s offices around 10:30 a.m. Monday and allegedly caused a disturbance and said he’d be back.

The 45-year-old manager told his staff to leave and blocked the front door. Police said the suspect came back an hour later armed with a knife.

“He gets out of the car and finds it’s locked. He goes into a fit of rage, banging the knife against walls, glass windows of neighbouring businesses, screaming, threatening and chasing people in the area,” Insp. Brian Nowlan said. “He doesn’t hurt anybody, but he’s completely out of control.”

Nowlan said the suspect used the handle of the knife to smash one of the front windows and found the frightened manager hiding in a backroom. He allegedly slashed the manager in the neck, causing a 7 cm gash.

The suspect went looking for other employees and that’s when the manager was able to escape, police said. He received medical attention from a nearby officer.

Police said the suspect barricaded himself inside one of the backrooms, but later surrendered. He was taken out on a stretcher with self-inflicted wounds to his wrist.

The suspect and the manager were treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.